Drew Brees, who had thrown no more than three touchdowns in a game this season, exploded for five in just over three quarters of New Orleans' 35-32 win in Pittsburgh on Sunday. And he did it on a season-low 27 pass attempts.

Ben Roethlisberger, who tossed a combined 12 touchdowns in his last two home starts, failed to find the end zone until garbage time — "35-32" is the definition of deceptive.

The Steelers did their thing but couldn't finish drives with six. Pittsburgh ran 28 more plays than New Orleans and put up 145 more total yards, but Brees re-discovered the efficiency that the Saints have missed all season.

Brees targeted and hit nine different receivers, which isn't surprising given Pittsburgh's issues in the secondary. What is surprising: Stud tight end Jimmy Graham was not one of those nine — a complete goose egg in the box score.

That's great news for the Saints, who at 5-7 have a good chance at the NFC South crown with the pass defense-challenged Panthers, Bears, Falcons and Buccaneers remaining on their schedule.

The Steelers, after yet another loss to a seemingly inferior opponent, fall to 7-5 and 1 1-2 games behind the Bengals, who Pittsburgh fortunately sees twice in the final four weeks.

There's no telling which Steelers team will show up, though, for those two division showdowns sandwiching a trip to Atlanta and a home game against the also-wild-card-hopeful Chiefs.

Pittsburgh's playoff hopes will depend on its secondary not breaking like it did on several occasions Sunday; like it has on several occasions all season. It'll need to happen against A.J. Green and Muhammad Sanu (twice), as well as Julio Jones and Roddy White ... no big deal.

The Saints' playoff hopes likely will come down to their own secondary — it overachieved against the Steelers — and their own meeting with the Falcons at New Orleans in Week 16. There's no reason to suspect anything less than a shootout similar to the Week 1 record-breaking Atlanta win. But the Superdome factor plays a significant role.

The bottom line: Each game from here on out is a must-win for both Pittsburgh and New Orleans.

Thanks to Sunday's result, the Steelers (probably a better team than the Saints) are fighting for their playoff lives. The Saints (probably not a better team than the Steelers) are sitting pretty.